The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Browns shouldn’t ignore CB with 12th pick
This just in — no, wait, it has been in for at least 32 games. Not only do the Browns need to find a pass rusher and a quarterback in the draft next month, they need help at virtually every other position — none more than cornerback.
Browns Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown is expected to use the first pick April 27 on defensive end Myles Garrett from Texas A&M.
If Brown doesn’t trade the 12th pick for a quarterback or use it to select one, nobody should complain if he uses it on one of four cornerbacks — Marlon Humphrey from Alabama, Chidobe Awuzie from Colorado, Tre’Davious White from LSU or Gareon Conley from Ohio State. Sidney Jones was projected as a first-round pick until he suffered a torn Achilles tendon at the Washington Pro Day on March 12.
The Browns gave up a franchise record 36 touchdown passes last season. New defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is not going to fix that with the current secondary.
Joe Haden, a first-round pick in 2010 and the longest tenured Brown after Joe Thomas, hasn’t played well since 2014.
Injuries affected his performance in 2015 and again last year. He is determined to play like an elite cornerback this season, but determination doesn’t always translate into results.
Marshon Lattimore of Ohio State is generally regarded as the best cornerback in the draft. He is projected as a top 10 pick.
Cornerback is a deep position in the 2017 draft, so the Browns could get a good one at the top of the second round with the 33rd overall pick, but by then the best of the best will be snatched up by other teams. Usually when one player at a particular position is picked, a run on that position begins.
“When the ball is snapped, it’s ‘find ball, see ball, get ball’ on defense,” Williams said when asked about his coaching philosophy. “We’ve got to — in this wild, throwing league — limit the balls that go over our head in a hurry.”
That would indicate Williams prefers fast cornerbacks to big ones if he can’t have one that is both.
NFLDraftScout.com ranks Humphrey second behind Lattimore, and Mike Mayock of NFL Network ranked Humphrey third behind Jones and Lattimore before Jones was injured.
Pro Football Focus ranks Humphrey — at 6-foot, 197 pounds — seventh among cornerbacks but still 35th among all players in this year’s draft — an indication of the talent level at the position.
“Struggles to find the ball in the air and play through the receiver’s hands, leading to (giving up) too many big plays,” PFF warns in its evaluation of Humphrey.
Awuzie is 6-foot, 200 pounds. He ran a 4.43 40yard dash, so he checks off both the size and speed boxes. Awuzie is a “lockdown corner and fluid athlete with terrific awareness for the position. Good closing speed and times his leaps well to break up receptions,” according to Rob Rang of NFLScout.com.
Pro Football Focus ranks White as the third best cornerback behind Lattimore and Teez Tabor of Florida. White is 5-foot11, 192 pounds with 4.47 speed in the 40.
“A really solid tackler in 2016, especially for a defensive back,” The PFF scouting report says on White. “Missed just five tackles, ranking in the top 21 percent of all cornerbacks with at least 500 defensive snaps this year . ... Fantastic athlete who doubled as a punt returner. Can put points on the board both on defense and special teams.”
The Browns searched unsuccessfully for a punt returner all of 2015.
Conley is ninth in the Pro Football Focus and NFLDraftScout.com cornerback rankings. He is 6-foot, 197 pounds. Conley could be available with the 33rd pick if the Browns want to take their chances.
“Well-schooled in press and off-man coverages with experience moving inside to cover the slot,” Dane Brugler wrote for NFLDraftScout.com. “Displays the downhill burst and chops to be a factor in run support.”
Mayock ranked Jones as the best cornerback in the draft before he suffered the torn Achilles tendon on the final drill of the Washington Pro Day. Jones ran a 4.47 40-yard dash before the injury. He did not allow a single touchdown pass in 2016, according to Pro Football Focus.
The knock on Jones even before the devastating injury is at 6-foot, 186 pounds, he isn’t as big as some of the best cornerbacks in the league. Still, according to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, in an analysis written before the injury: “Prioritizes ball over man and attacks catch point with slaps and rips. Twitchy feet for click-and-close transitions and instant change of direction from shuffle technique. Solid recovery quickness.”
The injury could drop Jones into the third or fourth round, but the team drafting him could hit the jackpot for future years, even if he misses his entire rookie season.
True, the Browns aren’t going anywhere until they get a quarterback. But last year they were 30th in the league when they gave up 452 points, and that has to change, too.